1968 in music. • Page 2

Oh and if you’re a Motown guy/girl, don’t sleep on the Marvin/Tammi album. For some reason people seem to overlook the duets but it’s outstanding

 

yeah for whatever reason i usually skip duets. i’ll check that one out though. better than i heard it through the grapevine?

 

I think so, yeah. "You're All I Need" is a classic and, for my money, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is one of the top 5 Motown singles ever. Which is no slight against Grapevine, which is very consistent.

 

1. The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
2. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland
3. The Kinks - The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

Honorable mentions:
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Sorry to hear that - cheers for the threads!

FWIW, I only check up on the threads that I know I'm interested in, which is this one (and a few others that have been like it in the Music forum), and the equivalent film version. If you're only checking out the fairly easy going threads, it does make this site much easier to enjoy.

AP and here used to be awful for that kind of cycle of negativity for me, but once I stopped participating in anything other than chatting about music or films in specific threads, I do find it a much easier place to be, and ignore other areas of the site entirely. I'm not interested in bad natured arguments online at all anymore, so this has worked for me.

 

Oh wow, total bummer, but I understand man. I nominate CShadows if he is willing to do it to keep these up. I'd also be willing to hop in and contribute if we wanted to alternate people every few weeks or so. These have become my absolute favorite threads almost to the point where I haven't even posted or noticed many other threads.

 

perhaps i’ll just block the certain threads, because discovering music from this series of threads in particular has been a great online experience

 

But Pat, who else is going to make Oasis jokes with me!?

I don't know what happened, but my two cents is to steer clear of the parts of the site that cause you the most grief and keep using the ones that you enjoy. Maybe easier said than done, but I've scaled back my posting/who I interact with A LOT over the last two years or so, in response to something that happened in early 2020, and that's had a hugely positive impact on my life without taking away the things I love about this site (namely, music discovery and chatting with a select number of people).

But, if you need to take some time away, I'm sure we'd all understand. @cshadows2887 and I could probably work something out to keep these threads rolling.

 

I'm not a fan of user blocking, but ignoring certain threads has definitely improved my experience here.

Do what's needed for your mental health though, even if it means taking a break from the site entirely.

 

i’ll try temporarily just blocking certain threads. being repeatedly told i’m one of the more aggressive posters on this site for choosing not to be silent about things i believe in has been … taxing lol

 

I'd hate to see you go. The discussion in these threads has been excellent. I don't branch out the way I used to anymore either. Mostly just post in threads for older artists or stuff like this where the morons tend not to lurk. But do whatever's healthy.

I'll take it over if you need.

 

i’ll give selected-posting a try. thanks guys.

 

1. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
2. Aretha Franklin - Aretha Now
3. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison

Astral Weeks is just a spellbindingly beautiful album, one of the most pure and gorgeous recordings ever made. Van may be a bit of a nutter now, but for about the next 10 years or so, he was on an incredible hot streak of records, as I'm sure we'll see in the next few threads. Also, if you haven't heard it, I can highly recommend this beautiful acoustic version of Sweet Thing from a bootleg in 1971.

For Aretha, I could have gone with either of her two albums this year, the other being Lady Soul. I went for Aretha Now just about, simply because the opening two tracks are the gigantic "Think" & "I Say a Little Prayer", which is basically an unstoppable way to open an album.

Third place was a bit trickier, but I went for the Johnny Cash record, as it's more or less the only thing of his that I have in regular listening rotation, and I absolutely love all the "banter" and chatter on the record, talking to the prisoners. A fascinating live document.

Some other stuff I like a lot;

Dr John - Gris Gris: Some spooky New Orleans blues with a bit of psychedelia - great Halloween music.
Etta James - Tell Mama: Etta continues her slight change in style with some classic powerhouse, Aretha Franklin-esque soul.
Marvin Gaye - I Heard it Through the Grapevine & You're All I Need: Two great Marvin records this year, the first containing one of the all time best songs, and the second with the great Tammi Terrell, who compliments his voice perfectly.
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends: It took me a while to get into this compared to their others, but while a bit overplayed, "Mrs Robinson" is an absolutely incredible track.
The Supremes - Love Child: Classic Supremes record really - title track is phenomenal
Richie Havens - Something Else Again: Another lovely soulful, folky record from Richie Havens. Contains an excellent cover of Dylan's "Maggie's Farm".
The Beatles - The White Album: It may be a bit too long for me to listen to the whole thing regularly, there really are some incredible tracks here. While I don't particularly enjoy all the experimentation on stuff like "Revolution Nine", I do respect that they were the biggest band in the world and put something basically incomprehensible on their album.

 

Did my first listen on the commute:

Richard Harris - A Tramp Shining
I mean, he's not a "singer" per se. Feel like that's necessary to establish. But this album is Jimmy Webb's magnum opus, and he's a legend. He knows that Harris can get the songs over well enough with his acting chops, but he doesn't foreground him in the arrangement. Dude's arranging for a 35-piece orchestra and it's absolutely fucking stunning. Seriously loved this, even "Macarthur Park" and its silly lyric.

 

These all sound awesome. I'll have to put them on my radar for listening this week. I'm especially due for another Havens album.

 

Anyone who is a fan of psychedelic rock should definitely be checking out the self-titled album from Nazz that came out in ‘68.

Nazz was led by the perpetually underrated, albeit now Rock n Roll HOF inductee class of ‘21 TODD RUNDGREN.

Some great great tracks on this one, led by “Open My Eyes”. Album also features an early version of Rundgren’s breakthrough hit, “Hello, It’s Me”.

 

After years of saying I never really “got” Van Morrison besides a few of his biggest singles, I am looking forward to spending time with Astral Weeks this week.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Them records from the previous few years, so I think now I am a bit more “ready” to appreciate AW for the artistic achievement that most people view it as.

 

astral weeks rules. a couple of his solo albums other than that and them records are good too. i have no desire to listen to anything else from him haha

 

I listened to United during my '67 listening and it was really great. Definitely will check out this one as well

 

First listen from 1968 was the Taj Mahal debut album, who I hadn't heard of and thought it might be like Ravi Shankar / Ananda Shankar Indian fusion music, but it's excellent electric blues, mostly covers of classic blues staples, but there is one original track in here. It's got a ferocious energy and rhythm section, really energetic and lively. Taj Mahal is an excellent vocalist, growling through these tracks exactly like a bluesman should.

His discography looks quite interesting on Wiki, so I plan on checking out some more of him hopefully.

 

And I also echo that I find I've been posting in less places around here lately. But I'm very grateful for threads like this. I've been having a blast going through all these years and learning about so many artists and albums, so thanks everyone!

 

No love for “Why Are You on Facebook”?

 

Van’s run from Astral Weeks through Veedon Fleece is as good as any artist has ever had, period

 

Listened to Stevie Wonder's Eivets Rednow (see what he's doing there???), and it was an instrumental album, which I didn't know before starting it. It was alright I suppose - I guess more confirmation, if any more is possibly needed, that Stevie is a musical genius, playing harmonica, drums, piano and clarinet here.

I didn't necessarily get too much out of it, other than thinking it was alright. It's not one I'll be returning to when I'm in the mood for some Stevie Wonder probably, but for a nice little 30 minute listen through, it was totally A-OK.

 

Weirdly I have found myself in a mood more than once where I thought “I’m in the mood to just hear Stevie rip on harp for a half hour” and put it on. But yeah...it’s as much gimmick/curiosity as anything